Minsheng Banking to issue new shares

China Minsheng Banking Corp has won approval "in principle" from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to issue new shares and bonds, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Minsheng Bank will issue A-share convertible bonds and H-shares, according to the filing.

Tencent chairman sells 5m shares

Tencent Holdings Ltd Chairman Ma Huateng sold 5 million shares of his company at an average price of HK$144.325 a share on August 29, according to data on the website of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The shares weren't sold on the exchange, the disclosure said.

Macao gambling revenue surges

Macao posted a 57 percent year-on-year rise in gaming revenue for August to 24.77 billion patacas ($3.08 billion) on Thursday, the latest indication that the enclave is powering ahead despite deep-seated concerns about the global economy.

The former Portuguese colony has reported booming revenue growth since the start of the year, boosted by an increasing number of cash-rich gamblers from the mainland eager to visit in the country's only legal casino market.

AAC wins iPhone, iPad orders

AAC Technologies Holdings Inc, a Hong Kong-listed supplier of microphones and mini-speakers to Apple Inc, said it clinched orders to make components for new iPhone and iPad versions.

"We are one of the suppliers" for the next-generation iPhone, Richard Mok, chief financial officer at AAC, said in an interview in Hong Kong on Wednesday. AAC is "ready" to ship components for the next version of the iPad, Mok said. He didn't say when Apple will release the new products.

Carolyn Wu, a spokeswoman at Apple in Beijing, declined to comment on orders for AAC or when Apple will introduce new iPhone and iPad versions.

Stocks pare on policy concerns

The Hang Seng Index (HSI) climbed for a fourth straight day on Thursday as mainland manufacturing accelerated and exporters rose after US reports bolstered speculation the world's biggest economy is recovering.

The HSI advanced 0.25 percent to 20585.33 at the close. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 0.18 percent to 10922.53 after climbing as much as 2.3 percent. A report showed the mainland's manufacturing expanded at a faster pace in August. Futures on the HSI closed 0.3 percent lower at 20401. The HSI Volatility Index rose 8.2 percent to 30.19.

Mainland stock indexes may rise less than earlier estimates this year, Credit Suisse Group AG said, citing slowing economic and corporate earnings growth. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index estimate was lowered to 13,000 from 15,000, analysts at Credit Suisse wrote in a report dated on Thursday.

Stabilizing prices is the country's top priority and the government doesn't plan to alter the direction of economic policies, Premier Wen Jiabao said in an article that appeared on Thursday on the website of Qiushi magazine.

Jiangxi Copper advanced 2.5 percent to HK$22.85. Aluminum Corp of China Ltd gained 3.1 percent to HK$5.36. Belle International climbed 1.9 percent to HK$16.30 and Tencent advanced 1.4 percent to HK$187.60. PCCW Ltd gained 3.6 percent to HK$3.46.

The United Laboratories International Holdings Ltd fell 16 percent to HK$6.23 after saying first-half profit dropped 36 percent from a year earlier.

Bloomberg - Reuters

(HK Edition 09/02/2011 page2)